In the past, many attempts have been made to improve the ability of fishing lures to attract fish by enhancing the reflective or illuminative properties of the lures. For example, electrically powered lights have been tried in conjunction with fishing lures. Many problems are associated with the use of electrical lights in an under-water environment, however. Water is a conductor and salt water is highly corrosive. Thus, water can cause short circuits and cause metal contacts and other parts to corrode. When the electricity for lights is supplied through power lines, the extension and maintenance of such lines is difficult and particularly impractical for sports fishing. Using a power line when fishing with a reel at any appreciable depth is not feasible. Similarly, the use of a light bulb and battery in a sealed compartment has associated problems. Insufficient illumination, heavy weight, bulky size, leakage of water into the compartment, replacement of batteries, and switching of power to the light bulb are a few of the problems.
As an alternative to electrically powered lights, florescent paint has been used on fishing lures. The amount of illumination provided by such lures, however, is minimal. This is particularly true when fishing on cloudy days or at substantial depths.
Attempts to provide increased illumination have been enhanced by the creation of small chemiluminescent capsules, commonly known as "light sticks." Such capsules typically comprise a sealed glass tube containing a first chemical housed within an outer resilient plastic tube. A second chemical is housed intermediate the tubes. By bending the outer resilient tube, the inner glass tube can be broken to allow the two chemicals to mix and react, causing illumination of the capsule. Chemiluminescent capsules of this type are described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 3,576,987 to Voight, et al.
Small chemiluminescent capsules are attractive for use with fishing lures because they overcome the problems discussed previously with respect to electrical or florescent systems. To date, however, the use of chemiluminescent capsules has been hampered by lack of an adequate means to readily attach and detach the capsules to a fishing line or fishing lure.
A particular problem presented by existing chemiluminescent capsules is the fact that they are not manufactured with a uniform length. The length of small capsules may vary plus or minus 10%. Such variance has created difficulties in designing fittings for such capsules which, until the present invention, have not been adequately addressed.
Another problem concerns the difficulty and time consuming procedure required to attach the holder for the chemiluminescent capsule to the fishing line. This is especially a problem for commercial longline fishermen desiring to attach the chemiluminescent capsule to existing ground lines and the ganglions attached thereto. Similar problems exist for other type commercial fishermen and sports fishermen.
It will be appreciated that there has been a need for a convenient and inexpensive illuminating fishing lure which does not require the use of wires, batteries, or light bulbs, and which provides an easily used, self-contained source of light using a chemiluminescent capsule and a holder therefor. The holder should be easily and quickly attachable to an existing fishing line without cutting and re-tying the line or tying knots in the line. Moreover, the same holder should be usable with lines of significantly different diameter. The holder should also be adjustable to permit the holder to stay stationary or slidably move on the line, as selected by the user. The holder should have a smooth profile so as to pass through automatic baiters without difficulty. Furthermore, the attachment and detachment of the chemiluminescent capsule to the holder should be easy and quick, but yet hold the capsule firmly in place during usage of the holder against the normal forces encountered on the capsule during usage. The holder should have simplicity of design and use, and be moldable as an integral unit. The present invention fulfills these needs and further provides other related advantages.